Comment by Riaz Haq on June 26, 2023 at 7:35am

So, what does the US want from India?

https://thewire.in/security/modi-us-visit-security-vulnerability

by Pravin Sawhney

China’s deterrence in the West Pacific where it faces challenges in the Taiwan Strait and the South and East China Sea is based on the combination of its military power and economic power (its intense trade with ASEAN and US allies like Japan and South Korea). Given the advantage of its geography, and the formidable Anti-Access Area Denial (A2AD) firewall that the PLA has created against the US, China refused Antony Blinken’s request in Beijing for opening bilateral military communication to avert a crisis in the region. While the stated reason by China for doing this are the US sanctions on its defence minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, the actual reason is to discourage US freedom of navigation and air patrols in the waters and air space in the Chinese backyard. Much in line with the US’s Monroe Doctrine – which disallows the presence of outside powers in the Western hemisphere – China wants US military activities in West Pacific to end.


Meanwhile, aware of its eroded deterrence in the West Pacific, the US military is reinforcing its regional alliances, seeking a global role for NATO and strengthening its military bases in Hawaii and Guam.

Chinese deterrence outside the West Pacific will be based on its economic deterrence anchored on BRICS and BRI, and its military deterrence anchored on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and cooperative security with nations onboard the BRI. Since prosperity is at the vanguard of the BRI, Xi Jinping has announced that the third BRI Forum will be held in Beijing this year. The actual dates of the Forum perhaps await progress on Xi’s pet project of ‘Xiongan (meaning brave and peaceful) New Area’, 100km outside Beijing which is being called the vice-capital of China. Named the ‘plan of a thousand years’ by Xi, this city, meant to de-congest Beijing by moving many governments, financial, medical, academic, and military headquarters here, is being built with cyberspace software connectivity (part of the Digital Silk Road, a sub-set of the BRI) using industrial internet technologies like blockchain, 5G, IoT, big data and so on. This smart city will become the blockchain hub in China with blockchain-based services. Given this, it will be a good idea for Xi to showcase this smart city close to Beijing to the Forum delegates for them to get a sense of how the new phase of BRI (cyberspace software connectivity) which will likely figure in Xi’s address, would usher in prosperity by industrial internet.

China’s economic deterrence for BRI nations will get delayed owing to the chip war with the US. For example, China has been denied advanced chips which are required in AI and data centres for computing, storage, and for servers. Slowing economic deterrence will affect military deterrence which is based on cooperative security (PLA working with host BRI nation’s security forces for the protection of Chinese infrastructure, interests, and people).

Given the likelihood of China’s military deterrence lagging behind the US – which is supported now by India in South Asia and the IOR – Beijing might decide to up the ante on its border. Since China sees the boundary problem with India as a dispute regarding its sovereignty, it may decide to upend the US’s growing integrated deterrence in the region by a short and decisive war with India. In that sense, Modi’s US embrace has increased India’s vulnerabilities.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 26, 2023 at 8:50pm

White House Condemns Harassment of WSJ Reporter for Questioning Modi About Rights

https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-condemns-harassment-of-wsj...

Biden spokesman says harassment of journalist is unacceptable after attacks by officials from Indian prime minister’s party

The White House is condemning the harassment of a Wall Street Journal reporter who questioned India’s prime minister about human rights in his country at a press conference last week.

Sabrina Siddiqui, a White House reporter, was the only U.S. journalist to ask Narendra Modi a question at the White House event Thursday. She referenced concerns from human rights organizations, which have criticized discrimination against religious minorities, especially Muslims, and a crackdown on dissent and press freedom under Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Siddiqui asked Modi what steps he was taking to protect minorities and uphold free speech.

Modi, who has seldom faced the news media over his nine years as prime minister, said in response that “democracy is our spirit” and defended his government’s record.

Since the press conference, Siddiqui has been subject to online attacks from officials from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, including a party spokesman who called her a “bigot” on Twitter.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday: “We’re aware of the reports of that harassment. It’s unacceptable and we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances. That’s just completely unacceptable and it’s antithetical to the very principles of democracy that were on display last week during the state visit.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed those remarks, adding: “We’re committed to the freedom of the press, which is, which is why we had the press conference last week.”

Indian Embassy spokesman Karthik Iyer referred inquiries to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which couldn’t be reached for comment.

“The Wall Street Journal’s Sabrina Siddiqui is a respected journalist known for her integrity and unbiased reporting,” the Journal said in a statement Monday. “This harassment of our reporter is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 26, 2023 at 8:56pm

Shafek Koreshe

#Pakistan's Demarche to #USA on US-India Joint Statement

The US "should refrain from issuing statements that may be construed as an encouragement of India’s baseless & politically motivated narrative against Pakistan"

US Dep Chief of Mission "called to"
@ForeignOfficePk

https://twitter.com/shafeKoreshe/status/1673390811546017792?s=20

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 27, 2023 at 7:44am

Mohammed Zubair
@zoo_bear
"Ek patrakar Jo America ki, Aur Bharat ki mul ki hai, Jo Indo-American hai, Unka naam hai Sabreena Siddiqui, Wo Bharat nahi aayi kabhi, Aur wo Muslim hai, Uss Patrakaar ko Chuna jata hai ke wo White House me khadi hokar Pradhan Mantri Modi se sawaal pooche, Aur wo pooch bhi leti hain. Iska Matlab ke ye toolkit kahi na kahi Safal ho raha hai. Chal Raha hai kaam." - Sudhir Choudhary to Minister of State for Culture, Arjun Meghwal.
Forget BJP Members and Right Wing trolls attacking Wall Street reporter Sabrina Siddiqui who asked question to PM Modi on rights of Muslim and other Minorities, Here
@aajtak
News Anchor
@sudhirchaudhary
says that the question asked by a 'Muslim' reporter 'Sabreena Siddiqui' was part of toolkit and is successful.
Translate Tweet

https://twitter.com/zoo_bear/status/1673578297928847365?s=20

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 27, 2023 at 4:44pm

#WhiteHouse spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre condemned harassment of @SabrinaSiddiqui after her question to #Modi : “We’re committed to the freedom of the press, which is, which is why we had the press conference last week.” #Biden #ModiInAmerica https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-condemns-harassment-of-wsj...

Biden spokesman says harassment of journalist is unacceptable after attacks by officials from Indian prime minister’s party

The White House is condemning the harassment of a Wall Street Journal reporter who questioned India’s prime minister about human rights in his country at a press conference last week.

Sabrina Siddiqui, a White House reporter, was the only U.S. journalist to ask Narendra Modi a question at the White House event Thursday. She referenced concerns from human rights organizations, which have criticized discrimination against religious minorities, especially Muslims, and a crackdown on dissent and press freedom under Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Siddiqui asked Modi what steps he was taking to protect minorities and uphold free speech.

Modi, who has seldom faced the news media over his nine years as prime minister, said in response that “democracy is our spirit” and defended his government’s record.

Since the press conference, Siddiqui has been subject to online attacks from officials from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, including a party spokesman who called her a “bigot” on Twitter.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday: “We’re aware of the reports of that harassment. It’s unacceptable and we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances. That’s just completely unacceptable and it’s antithetical to the very principles of democracy that were on display last week during the state visit.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed those remarks, adding: “We’re committed to the freedom of the press, which is, which is why we had the press conference last week.”

Indian Embassy spokesman Karthik Iyer referred inquiries to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which couldn’t be reached for comment.

“The Wall Street Journal’s Sabrina Siddiqui is a respected journalist known for her integrity and unbiased reporting,” the Journal said in a statement Monday. “This harassment of our reporter is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 27, 2023 at 8:29pm

What’s fueling the rise in Hindu nationalism in the U.S.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/modis-popularity-grows-i...

To some, Modi represents the face of a new, better India. To others, his human rights violations are ushering in an era of Hindu nationalism — and it's rapidly spreading in the U.S.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit turned the nation’s capital into a microcosm of Indian politics on Thursday. Thousands of South Asians of every creed and community flooded the city’s landmarks — some to support the controversial leader, others to protest his visit, while many attended to simply take in the historic moment.

Chants of “Go Modi” and “Jai Hind” (“Long live India”), juxtaposed against “Killer Modi” and “no justice, no peace,” echoed through the streets and buildings. The South Asian American diaspora cares about Indian politics like never before, experts say, and the common denominator is Modi.

After nearly a decade in office, Modi, 72, is cited as the most popular leader in the world, according to a Morning Consult poll. But the diaspora has mixed feelings.

While his supporters credit him with making India a presence on the global stage, his critics accuse him of fanning the flames of Hindu nationalism in India and abroad. At its most extreme, the nationalist movement seeks to create a Hindu India, perpetuating the narrative that Hindus are oppressed in the country, and abetting violence and discrimination against Muslims and other minority groups, experts told NBC News.

In the U.S., Hindu nationalism can take the form of cultural youth groups, but also online doxxing and harassment campaigns against dissenters. Charity work might operate parallel to lobbies against bills aimed at protecting those born into lower castes in India’s caste system, according to experts.

“There is something that is very distinct about what’s happening now,” said Sangay Mishra, an associate professor at Drew University in New Jersey and author of “Desis Divided: The Political Lives of South Asian Americans.” “There’s something very specific about Narendra Modi: He wants to be liked in the Western world.”

Modi’s government and those that surround it — like his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the right-wing Hindu nationalist organization the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — have focused specifically on Indian Americans as the new frontier of political mobilization, Mishra, who teaches political science and international relations, said. And they’ve invested resources into spreading the word in schools, government offices and on social media.

India is now the most populous country in the world, with 1.43 billion people, and it also has the world’s largest diaspora, with 32 million living abroad. Modi’s government is trying to get the world on board in making India a global player, Mishra said.

Leading Hindu nationalists “always thought that Hindus anywhere are a part of India,” he said.

And the government's efforts seem to be effective, he said. Those who came to Washington to see Modi told NBC News that they simply love his energy and positivity. While many feel tied to the BJP, others lining the streets were less politically motivated, dressed in their best to witness the prime minister like they would any other celebrity.

But to those concerned about India’s direction, the historical significance of Modi’s visit isn’t the growing U.S.-India ties, but rather the human rights violations they say has defined his time both as chief minister of the state of Gujarat and now as prime minister. It’s an agenda supporting upper-caste Hindu supremacy, they say, and it’s seeping into Indians around the world.

“We claim as a diaspora we’re very connected to our heritage and we want to celebrate our culture,” said Harita Iswara, 23, who works with Hindus for Human Rights and protested during Modi’s visit. “But when people’s identities are under attack in India, we have to do as much, if not more, to speak up to protect them.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 29, 2023 at 8:42pm

US-India relations: A test case for the Sullivan Doctrine
BY NICHOLAS SARGEN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 06/29/23

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4073792-us-india-relation...

One challenge is that the two countries do not agree on some key international economic issues. For example, India’s minister for power and renewable energy, Raj Kumar Singh, has criticized the Biden administration’s climate initiative, the Inflation Reduction Act, on grounds that it disadvantages developing countries that are unable to subsidize their own transition to green energy. India has also opted out of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’s trade pillar, which is the Biden administration’s signature trade initiative.

---------------

the (US Foreign Relations) council also maintains that the relationship needs to be reciprocal and that the U.S. should press Modi to adhere to democratic principles amid signs of backsliding. In this regard, it views the outcome of Modi’s visit as a litmus test for a “values-based U.S. trade policy.”

India also poses a test for how National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s vision of international trade might be implemented. In an April speech at the Brookings Institution, Sullivan argued that the “Washington consensus” that favored free trade and globalization should be replaced with a new consensus that “invests in the sources of our own economic and technological strength.”

For Financial Times journalist Edward Luce, however, Sullivan’s vision represents a loss of faith in economic multilateralism. He observes: “The old consensus was a positive sum game; if one country gets richer others did too. The new one is zero sum; one country’s growth comes at the expense of another’s.”

My take is that the rejection of free trade in favor of industrial policies dismisses the achievements from the mid-1980s through 2007 when globalization served as a launch pad for developing economies to emerge from poverty via export-led growth and increased foreign investment.

President Biden’s overture to Modi hopefully will mark a new phase in deepening and broadening U.S.-India relations. While India has a long-standing non-aligned status, Russia’s overtures to China should encourage India to move closer to the U.S. when U.S. multinationals seek to diversify their supply chains away from China. As The Wall Street Journal notes, big deals for jet engines and chips during Modi’s visit are a promising start.

For the ties to be enduring, however, the mutual political and economic interests of the two countries must continue to expand as India becomes more prominent globally.

Nicholas Sargen, Ph.D., is an economic consultant for Fort Washington Investment Advisors and is affiliated with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He has authored three books, including “Global Shocks: An Investment Guide for Turbulent Markets.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 30, 2023 at 10:11am

Muslims are the poorest religious group in India | Latest News India - Hindustan Times

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/muslims-in-india-the-poor...


Muslims have the lowest asset/consumption levels among major religious groups…

An HT analysis of unit level data from the latest All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) shows that they have the lowest asset and consumption levels among major religious groups in India. Average consumption and asset values for Muslims are 87.9% and 79% of the all-India average and 87.8% and 79.3% of the average values for Hindus. Religious groups which have a population share of less than 1% have been clubbed in the “others” category.


There is often a lot of dog-whistling about the population of Muslims increasing at a higher pace than other religious groups in India. While most such commentary is ill-informed – this was discussed in detail in these pages (https://tinyurl.com/2mhjxnn2) — Muslims do have an overrepresentation problem when it comes to their relative share in population among the poor. A comparison of relative share – among every decile class by assets ; it basically measures the share in a given decile class divided by overall share in population – shows that Muslims are concentrated in the bottom half of India’s population and outnumber the Hindus in relative terms in each of the bottom six deciles.



A comparison of average asset/MPCE values across social groups among Hindus and Muslims shows this clearly. The average asset value for non-SC/ST/OBC Muslims – they are the non-Pasmanda Muslims – is not just lower than the average value for non-SC/ST/OBC Hindus but also lower than that of Hindu OBCs, which shows that the claims of Muslim upper castes enjoying disproportionate economic power are just not true.


The PLFS gives data on both the status of workers (whether regular wage, self-employed, or casual) and the type of enterprise (such as government, public and private limited companies) at which a worker is employed. This shows that even non-SC/ST/OBC Muslims have a low share in regular jobs (the average wage in such jobs is the highest) compared to other religions. A comparison with caste groups among Hindus shows that non-SC/ST/OBC Muslims only do better than ST and SC Hindus. The disadvantage for Muslims becomes even bigger if one looks at their share in government jobs, a fact which has been pointed out by the Sachar Committee among others. To be sure, the low share of Muslims among the better jobs in India need not necessarily be a result of discrimination in the hiring process. Rather, it could be the result of Muslim job-seekers lagging in terms of educational qualifications, which is bound to have a big role in employability. And sure enough, an HT analysis of PLFS data shows that the share of people with a graduate or higher degree among India’s Muslim labour force is the lowest among all major religions.


The numbers discussed in this two-part data series clearly show that while Muslims do not have a bigger intra-community inequality problem in India, they are desperately in need of overall educational and economic upliftment. While there is some merit in the claim that such aspirations are often missing in the articulation of most Muslim politicians -- a section of Muslim political leadership in India has been self-serving, conservative, even communal, one cannot but ask the question whether or not the majoritarian turn in India’s politics has relegated the economic concerns of majority of Muslims behind their concerns over identity. Even here, the poorest Muslims are the worst sufferers. To give an anecdotal example, vigilante groups forcibly shutting down meat shops on various occasions often hurt the poorest Muslims.

Comment by Riaz Haq on June 30, 2023 at 10:12am

India’s discrimination against Muslims expands to housing | FairPlanet


https://www.fairplanet.org/story/indias-discrimination-against-musl...

Housing discrimination is not new in India as religious differences are increasingly polarised in the Hindu-majority country. When Hera Sajid moved to Mumbai from Delhi in 2017, she was not aware that such discrimination existed in the metropolitan cities. When she started looking for houses in Mumbai, she realised that her options were limited due to her faith.

“When the owner got to know that I was a Muslim, his demeanour changed. The broker turned to me asking if I was a Muslim,” Hera Sajid, a script supervisor, told FairPlanet. Later on, Hera was rejected for the same reason.

While this discrimination can look like rare incidents limited to a society or a region, it is in fact deeply systematic, according to research on the issue by Mohsin Alam Bhat, a professor from Jindal Global University Sonipat, and Asaf Ali, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Research and India Housing

Their report included more than 200 interviews with house owners, brokers, and tenants, in-depth field research in 15 neighbourhoods and housing communities in Mumbai and Delhi. In the research, they found the discrimination “systematic and writ large.”

Ali explains that in some cases, a tenant has a neutral-sounding name, but when brokers and owners find out that the tenant is a Muslim, their general response is, “Aap Musalman dikhte nahi” - “You don’t look like a Muslim.”

“In many incidents, they have been asked to vacate the house in the middle of the month without any notice just because they are Muslim,” said Ali.

SEGREGATED SPACES AND MARKETS
The everyday rise in discrimination and hate speech against Muslim minorities subsequently affects the mindset of people. “It used to happen before as well but in recent years I've seen a drastic change in owners' behaviour towards Muslim tenets,” a broker from Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, who wished to stay anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic, told FairPlanet.

In Delhi, areas like Hauz Rani and Jamia Nagar are Muslim-majority areas and are often regarded as "mini-Pakistans." Brokers often suggest Muslim tenants to live in a “Muslim zone” where it will be easier to find housing. This splits Muslims into different clusters, making the country’s segregation saliently evident.

This kind of discrimination is rampant in cities where millions of people move every year to make a living, forcing many Muslims to live in vulnerable conditions. Sometimes tenets also agree to some unnecessary and absurd demands by the owners just to get the desired accommodations.

“When you are in need of a house, you don’t give up when these incidents happen. Muslim tenants agree to bizarre rules by owners because they are also not able to find accommodation,” explained Ali.

When some Muslims do succeed in finding a house outside Muslim-concentrated areas, their search is often fraught with struggle, frustration, humiliation and rejection.

“The fear of safety is always on their mind. Violence can break out anytime and you'll be removed from your houses,” said Asaf Ali.

“People feel a sense of security when they do find a house where the owners don't have religious prejudice, but if they don’t there is always a sense of fear,” said Nayla Khwaja.

Many tenants are asked to hide their religious identity if they wish to find a house in their desired area. Back in 2018, Sarah Khan, a researcher from Delhi, was looking for a rental flat in Mumbai. When she mentioned her full name to the broker, the broker replied, “If you wear a hijab, you will have to remove it.”

Brokers tend to want to avoid the hassle. “We understand [the discrimination] but can’t do anything about it. We do not want to lose out on business, so we try to close the deal,” one anonymous broker from Mumbai told FairPlanet.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 1, 2023 at 6:13pm

Beleaguered community — being a Muslim in new India - The Hindu


By Ziya us Salam

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/beleaguered-community-being-...

To be a Muslim is to be voiceless in the new India. Almost all mainstream political parties refrain from using the word, Muslim, often preferring the euphemism of alpsankhyak or the minorities. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fares worse. The party which abolished the Maulana Azad Fellowship for the minorities stands in denial of discrimination. Unsurprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed all was fair and fine in his media interaction at the White House on June 23. Responding to a question on the steps his government was taking “to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities” in the country, he said, “We have always proved that democracy can deliver. And when I say deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender. There is absolutely no space for discrimination.” This denial came on the heels of former United States President Barack Obama expressing concern about the “protection of the Muslim minority in a Hindu majority India” in a televised interview.

Mr. Modi side-stepped the systematic diminution in Muslim representation in all spheres of life. In the Karnataka Assembly elections in May, the BJP did not put up a single Muslim candidate in a House of 224 Members of the Legislative Assembly. It was the same in Gujarat; and before that, in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar. At the Centre, for the first time since Independence, there is not a single Muslim Minister. The BJP is the first ruling party without a single Muslim parliamentarian. Of course, as Mr. Modi claims, it is not due to any discrimination.


------------

Ziya us Salam's interview with Karan Thapar

‘What does it feel like to be a Muslim in Narendra Modi’s India?’ is the subject the well-known author and journalist Ziya Us Salam addresses in an interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire. Yesterday (30/6) he wrote an op-ed on this subject for The Hindu. Today he expands upon the issue in greater detail.


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